stern vs strict

stern

adj
  • Having a hardness and severity of nature or manner. 

  • Grim and forbidding in appearance. 

verb
  • To propel or move backward or stern-first in the water. 

noun
  • A bird, the black tern. 

  • The tail of an animal; now used only of the tail of a dog. 

  • The hinder part of anything. 

  • The post of management or direction. 

  • The rear part or after end of a ship or vessel. 

strict

adj
  • Severe in discipline. 

  • Upright, or straight and narrow; — said of the shape of the plants or their flower clusters. 

  • Irreflexive; if the described object is defined to be reflexive, that condition is overridden and replaced with irreflexive. 

  • Tense; not relaxed. 

  • Exact; accurate; precise; rigorously particular. 

  • Governed or governing by exact rules; observing exact rules; severe; rigorous. 

  • Rigidly interpreted; exactly limited; confined; restricted. 

  • Strained; drawn close; tight. 

How often have the words stern and strict occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )